Posts Tagged ‘Bill Nighy’

Who else but Edgar Wright can draw so much pathos and emotion from almost nothing at all? “Nothing” in the sense that when his best films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and now, The World’s End jerk you into seriousness, you’re surprised by how you care about the characters – before then it’s been joke after joke, and somewhere along the way, or perhaps all during it, they’re endearing themselves. Since he’s been able to do it twice before, it’s not a fluke; it’s a skill, and a damn good one.

I’m still not entirely sure how he does it, but I do know that he doesn’t pause every other moment for some dubious self-reflection, and he makes a lot of character-based jokes – that is, jokes that are funny within the context of the character telling them. He also drops clues here and there so that when the tonal shift comes, it’s a payoff instead of a distraction – more importantly, it means something.

Vague enough? Well, whatever it is that Edgar Wright’s able to do and do well, The World’s End is the best display of that yet – in addition to being a very funny movie.

The story proper follows Gary King (Simon Pegg), a man inches away from full-on dereliction who opens with a story of the greatest night of his life. We see VHS-style grainy flashbacks to the early ’90s when Gary and his crew attempted the Newton Haven Golden Mile – a 12-pub crawl that no man survived, or at least conquered. Gary gave up after the ninth and went to watch the sunrise. As he glows in nostalgia, the camera zooms out to show the people Gary’s telling his story to, and it’s a very big laugh.

Horror movies are a staple of Hollywood. So much so that they’re one of the most popular genres of all time. And now an upcoming movie is looking to take its place in the highest levels of the genre.

Said movie in question is I, Frankenstein, which pits gargoyles and demons against each other in the ultimate battle for immortality. From that description, the movie sounds a lot like a recent one that had vampires fighting werewolves.

Guess that could be because the producers of I, Frankenstein and Underworld are one in the same. Anyway, here’s a more complete description of I, Frankenstein‘s plot:

“Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein’s creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality.”

Check out the teaser after the break. Look for I, Frankenstein, which in addition to Eckhart stars Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney and Aden Young, in theaters next January.

Over the past two decades, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens has almost been made into a movie several times. Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam tried for years to put the comic fantasy on film, but the infamously unlucky auteur (see the wonderful doc Lost in La Mancha) could never make it happen.

There has been talk lately of a possible TV miniseries, but many of the book’s fans still hold out hope for a feature. But who could bring Good Omens‘s outrageous characters to life?

Fans everywhere who were grinding their teeth during the reboot of the classic Clash of the Titans back in 2010 will finally have another reason to have the studio system as the trailer for Wrath of the Titans has hit the web.

Sure, it had a bad wrap the moment we found out a reboot to such a classic was even getting made, but the trailer doesn’t do much to show us otherwise. Here’s the unnecessarily massive synopsis, so you don’t get lost.

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Worthington) –the demigod son of Zeus (Neeson)–is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans.

Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades (Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston). The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Bryan Singer is finally sticking to what fans love by continuing to direct films in the fantasy genre. Sure, he may have burned a few bridges with his love letter to Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve in Superman Returns, but now he’s coming back with an all new twist on Jack the Giant Killer.

Along the same vein of Hunger Games and some of the new sexy “classics” done to a cool score, this flick will make you forget any of the stories done before it. Here’s the synopsis.

“Jack the Giant Killer” tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them.

Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

You can check out the trailer for the film after the jump. Catch Jack the Giant Killer in theaters on June 15th.

Those who saw French director Louis Leterrier’s remake of the classic film Clash of the Titans were split straight down the middle on those who absolutely loved the film, and those who thought it was total schlock.

Not unlike the response to the original film, this has left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, to the point where talk of a sequel would only anger them. That’s where this bit of news should change some folks’ minds. It seems that the Brothers Warner will be planning two sequels to the film. The good news? Good writers are on the way. From THR.

Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson, who co-wrote Wrath’s screenplay with Steven Knight and also share story credit with Greg Berlanti, have been enlisted to develop and write a treatment for the threequel, which would continue the adventures of Perseus, played by Sam Worthington.

Not that we are in any way endorsing the reboot/remake of Total Recall but with two hot actresses now joining the cast, we have to at least mention it. So, here it is. With Colin Farrell already taking over the role originated by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film and Bryan Cranston onboard as the evil nemesis, the next question has always been who would be playing the female leads?

Well, now we know. Kate Beckinsale has officially been cast as Lori, the bitchy wife of Douglas Quaid (Farrell) in the “real” world, while Jessica Biel will play sleazy and demure Melina, the woman he meets in his “other” life as a spy. The roles were played by Sharon Stone and Rachel Ticotin in the 1990 original.

In addition to the women, Heat Vision says Bill Nighy has landed the part of Quatto, the leader of the resistance movement. So, with Beckensale and Nighy in place that’s quite an Underworld reunion director Len Wiseman’s got going on. Oh well, he is in charge and if my wife was that hot I would probably cast her in my movies too.

I do have a question about Quatto though. Will he be a mutant and will he lead a resistance? According to reports, the new version of the story will not take place on Mars like Philip K. Dick’s original or the 1990 film.

It’s a crime that there are only a dozen or so films about, or involving, the world of broadcast radio. Not too many actually deal with the tribulations of censorship, though, which is where the upcoming film Pirate Radio comes in.

The film is about a group of rogue DJ’s on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic who broadcast a pirate radio station in the 1960s, despite the laws forbidding Rock and Roll…all for the love of music. Given the fact that the film is all about 60’s Rock, you can believe that the soundtrack is pretty killer, and you may get to win a copy!

Starting today, keep an eye on our Twitter account every week for a trivia question involving “Radio in The Movies.” The question may be the name of the radio station from Grosse Point Blank or the name of the epic band in Airheads, you’ll have to know your stuff to get this two-disc soundtrack.

The film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy, and Emma Thompson, is set to hit theaters on November 13th. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with all kinds of coverage of the film in the leading weeks. Until then, check out the complete track listing of the giveaway after the jump, as well as the trailer for Pirate Radio.

My former colleagues over at Cinematical have an exclusive look at the reported final poster for the CGI-animated adaptation of Astro Boy. You can head over there for a better look at the poster. In the meantime, in case you’re not familiar, Astro Boy, based on the manga and anime franchise of the same name, takes place in the futuristic Metro City. Dr. Tenma, a brilliant scientist, creates a young robot boy in his deceased son’s image.

The robot is, of course, the super powerful Astro Boy. Once alive and kicking, he has to contend with other much more dangerous robots and unfortunately, some not so trustworthy humans as well. The film features the voices of Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy, Kristen Bell as Cora, Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma, Bill Nighy as Dr. Elefun and Donald Sutherland as the President.

It should come as no surprise that Freddie Highmore’s Astro Boy is front and center on the poster, closely followed by Kristen Bell’s Cora. Also included in the poster are Dr. Tenma and Dr. Elefun. In addition to the poster, which looks really cool and fun, I also had a chance to see the trailer for the film while watching a movie last weekend. It also made the film look really fun and also made it seem suitable for kids (of all ages) as well.